Evaluation of reflection level in the field of educational findings among dental students at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical science in 2017-2018

Reflective thinking and analyzing the educational findings is an essential step in the learning process. The present study was conducted to determine the level of reflective thinking among graduate dental students at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical science In this descriptive- cross sectional study, a total of 204 graduate dental students (7-12 courses) at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical science in 2017-2018 have participated. The Kember et al. reflection questionnaire (RQ) with validity of 0.82 and reliability (alpha Cronbach) of 0.78, was used in the present study. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver.17 and T–test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient statistical tests. The significance level was set as P≤ 0.05. In the present study, 204 graduate dental student, 117(57.4%) women and 87(42.6%) men, with the mean age of 24.2±2.4 and age range of 21-42 years were participated. The mean score of habitual action, understanding, reflective, and critical reflection were 10.1±2.9, 14.9±4.2, 16.0±2.9, and 13.9±2.06 respectively. There were significant differences in the mean score of reflection and critical reflection between the three educational courses (P<0.05). Also, there were significant difference between the two age groups in the field of habitual action, and critical reflection (P<0.05).
Based on the results of the present study, with increasing the age and educational course, the level of habitual action decreased in dental students. Therefore, it is recommended that in dental schools, education of reflection throughout the lower courses should be emphasized.Keywords: Critical reflection, Dental student, Reflective, Understanding